Two downtown Brighton business owners are upset after a Facebook post calling them racists spread across social media.

The post spawned negative comments on the business' Facebook pages, and the owners of Talula Boutique and Beverly Rae's boutique say the comments aren't based on the facts and are damaging their Main Street businesses and their reputations.

The original post, which has since been deleted, was from the sister-in-law of Eric Ott, a black man who visited Talula and Beverly Rae's on May 21. The woman's post said "both places were extremely rude" to her brother-in-law and it called the store owners "racist broads."

In a May 28 post on Talula's Facebook page, store owner Shelley Ireland said it was simply a "huge misunderstanding."

Ireland said the man was in her store last fall telling her his wife and daughter were at a dance studio in town and he was looking for a dress for his wife. Ireland said she told him she was closing the store and that he said his wife could come by the next day.

The next morning, a woman and her daughter came into Talula saying they were in town for a dance, Ireland said. She said she asked the woman if her husband had told her about the store the previous night, and the woman said yes.

That woman then wrote a bad check for $700, Ireland said.

Ireland said police had told her to call them if the same man or woman ever came back to the store, believing at the time they might be partners in the bad check scam.

Ireland said when Eric Ott entered her store May 21 and said his wife and daughter were at a dance studio and he was looking for a dress for his wife, she called the police, noting the similarities in the man's story.

When he left her store, Ireland said, she called Beverly Rae's with a description of the man in case he stopped there.

Eric Ott's wife, Vicki, said she and her husband don't buy the explanation from Ireland.

"I do 110 percent believe she racially profiled him," Vicki Ott said.

Ireland disagreed.

"I didn't think anything about a racial-profiling situation," she said. "It was about the words he said."

Debbie Carley, owner of Beverly Rae's, said she had picked up the phone call from Ireland, but Ireland told her the police had arrived and hung up before she could fully explain to Carley what was happening.

Carley said she asked another customer in the store to call Talula to see what was going on and that Ott heard her and became upset about being the target of suspicion.

Eric Ott said while he was at Beverly Rae's, "the lady was freaking out."

Before he left, "I said to him that I apologize if I've offended you; I just don't know what's happened down the street (at Talula)," Carley said.

Brighton police did not file a report, according to Chief Tom Wightman.

Eric Ott said he hoped to visit the store owners soon to discuss what happened and "just get this thing out of the way."

"Hopefully when that talk is done, there's no need to go any further," he said.

Carley said Wednesday that she would like to speak to him, too.

The store owners are concerned about damage social media has done to their businesses. Ireland said many "vile" comments were directed at her on Facebook, and Carley said she had to shut down the Beverly Rae's Facebook page because of hateful comments.

"This woman felt bad for her brother-in-law and wanted to ruin us because of it, but without facts," Ireland said. "She should … not just blurt out all these false things. It's awful to be slandered on Facebook like that and have people believe it."

Vicki Ott said her sister believed her original post was only going to be seen by friends.

Carley said her store and its employees have been unfairly treated over something that happened in another store down the street.

"We feel like we've been dragged into a horrible misunderstanding," said Brandice Dameworth, who works at Beverly Rae's and is Carley's niece.

Carley said comments are still being made on social media urging people not to shop at her boutique.

"It's a real shame that something like this has been made into a race issue, and it wasn't race at all," Carley said. "These people on social media have no clue about the facts. It's so wrong what they've done, to defame a business like they've tried to do with my store."

Vicki Ott insists the store owners did not handle the situation with her husband in a professional manner.

"They are business owners and there are proper ways to handle your business, and they just did not do that," she said. "Unfortunately we do live in a social media world. We are all held accountable for things we do, and it can spread like wildfire."